Lyn Bishop : Sharing Secrets

Community art and performance center, Works/San Jose, is reopening with a new show titled re: group that opens on August 1st and runs through September 13. The gala reception is schedule to coincide with the August First Friday event, August 1st, 7pm until late.

This is good news, as Works/San Jose offers local artists and curators a place to exhibit and engage with the community in an effort to expand the scope of cultural and artistic experience in downtown San Jose. Founded in 1977 by local artists to form an alternative non-profit art and performance center, Works/San Jose is an important cultural institution within the fabric of the south bay arts community. It would have been a real shame to see it close for good. Read the rest of this entry »

Recently I spent a few days working with another artist on ideas for a new collaborative project. We brainstormed together and addressed technical issues surrounding the media we wish to use. It was a productive three days and we ended the session with strong jumping off points in which to proceed.

Marriam-Webster defines collaboration as: “ to work jointly with others or together especially in an intellectual endeavor” For most visual artists, the process of creating art with others doesn’t come naturally. Western society tends to focus on the work of the singular artist. When viewers are confronted with jointly created work they often question the authorship and analyze the precise contributions of the individual rather than take the work in as a whole. This point of view can presents a barrier to what the work is really about, and does not consider the symbiotic relationship of the artists involved. Read the rest of this entry »

Today’s New York Times article on cruise ship art auctions is pretty scary. It discusses big name artwork (mostly prints) being auctioned for many times over their land-based market price. The work is often sold to first-time bidders who may not really know what they are buying until they get home and suffer buyers remorse after doing more research and finding out signatures may be fake or that the print is nothing more than a quality poster.

This is the kind of story that makes everyone uneasy. It worries me, as a printmaker myself, that some unscrupulous art-dealers-turned-snake-oil-salesmen will take advantage of naive clients. Thankfully, there are websites like Fine Art Registry where artists can permanently register their art when they create it and where collectors, museums and galleries can register their collections.

While the big name artwork may be appealing, why not consider collecting artwork directly from living, breathing artist alive today. Not only can you collect some amazing work, you’ll support a living artist in their career. And if you’re lucky, you may, in the process, develop a one-on-one relationship with them, too. Now that’s priceless.

(Art: Missing Threads, by Lyn Bishop)

Here are my del.icio.us links for the first half of July in no particular order - Enjoy:

Frida Kahlo at the SF MOMA
&
Dale Chihuly at the de Young Museum
enjoy an art date in San Francisco this summer!

Robert Rauschenberg in DC
Smithsonian American Art Museum Blog post about Rauschenberg.

Phillips new 3D Displays
Are you ready for a 3D TV set? Now that’s lenticular!

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I try to take at least a day a month to get out of the studio and see other art. It’s inspiring, and I often return to the studio with new ideas or solutions for work that I am in process with. For months now, I have been trying to plan a weekday gallery walk in San Francisco’s SOMA district. Finally, I made it happen, and had a very enjoyable art date with myself in the process.

Taking the train to San Francisco is easy, and with increasing gas prices and parking fees, it makes a lot of sense. There are many galleries within a walking distance of the Caltrains station, so I set off on foot to explore.
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